Read Online Cats on the Prowl (A Cat Detective cozy mystery series Book 1) by Nancy C. Davis - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Nancy C. Davis
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children anymore.
“There it is,” Nat told he.
“What?” she asked.
He pointed his nose toward a little
brick cottage behind a thick hedge. “That’s Annika Neilsson’s house. That’s
where she lived with Jason for the last year and a half.”
Willow took a step forward. “Great.
Let’s go.”
“Not so fast. Take a look over there.”
He pointed his nose the other way.
A lime green Porsche coop sat parked
down the block and around the corner. Willow hadn’t noticed it between two
trees. “What’s that doing here?”
“Good question,” Nat growled. “But we
can’t just walk in the front door like I planned. We’ll have to go around the
back way.”
“But didn’t you say nobody notices a
cat listening to their conversations?” Willow asked. “They wouldn’t care if we
did walk in the front door.”
Nat headed toward the hedge. “It’s
better to be safe than sorry.”
He ducked under the hedge, but he
didn’t come out again. Willow waited for him, but when he didn’t reappear, she
tiptoed toward the hedge. “Nat? Are you there?”
No sound came from the wall of
vegetation. Willow crouched down. She pushed her head under the lowest bushy
branch and came face to face with Nat. “What are you doing under there?”
“Don’t say anything,” he whispered.
“Just do exactly as I do.”
“But there’s no danger here,” she
pointed out. “No one knows us here.”
He hissed at her and slithered away
through the dirt. Willow hated to get her fur dirty, but she didn’t see how she
had much choice but to follow him.
The hedge ran up the side of the house
and around the back yard. How did Nat know where to stay under the hedge to
keep hidden and where to come out when he wanted to dart up to the back door? Willow
shouldn’t have wondered that he knew every detail of every inch of the city. He
must have been doing this detective work since long before she was born.
He squeezed out from under the hedge
and peered around. Then he ran in a line straight for the open back door. Willow
hesitated a moment longer. Nat couldn’t be wrong, and even if he was, what
could possibly go wrong? If the owners found a couple of stray cats in their
house, they might yell and wave their arms until the cats ran away. They
couldn’t exactly call the police, could they?
Chapter 10
Willow ran to Nat’s side at the back
door, and they both froze with every hair on high alert. Then Nat ventured onto
the cold linoleum of the kitchen floor. Not a sound echoed through the house. Willow
crept after him, but something caught her attention that distracted her.
She wrinkled her nose toward the corner
by the refrigerator. A cat food smell clung to the base board and the crack
where the linoleum met the wall. Saliva filled her mouth. A memory of food
flooded her mind, so she almost forgot to follow Nat into the hall.
Nat crouched in the middle of the hall
and listened. Human voices came from one of the rooms. Willow trotted to his
side, but another cluster of smells assaulted her brain from the bathroom.
Mixed in with the stench of disinfectant and shower jell rose the combination
of human bodies, and not just any human bodies. She knew these people. She was
never more certain of anything in her life.
A shout brought her attention back to
the business at hand. “How many times do I have to tell you? I can’t get access
to the money until the police finish their investigation. I’ve tried, but they
have procedures to follow.”
Another female voice answered the
first, and Willow couldn’t mistake it for anyone other than Marlena Rappaport.
“This isn’t what we planned. I should have known better than to trust you.”
“You can rant and rave all you want.
That’s not going to get you your money any faster.” Willow recognized the first
voice as belonging to Josephine Avino. “We planned everything down to the
smallest detail, but we didn’t plan on waiting around to get our
“There it is,” Nat told he.
“What?” she asked.
He pointed his nose toward a little
brick cottage behind a thick hedge. “That’s Annika Neilsson’s house. That’s
where she lived with Jason for the last year and a half.”
Willow took a step forward. “Great.
Let’s go.”
“Not so fast. Take a look over there.”
He pointed his nose the other way.
A lime green Porsche coop sat parked
down the block and around the corner. Willow hadn’t noticed it between two
trees. “What’s that doing here?”
“Good question,” Nat growled. “But we
can’t just walk in the front door like I planned. We’ll have to go around the
back way.”
“But didn’t you say nobody notices a
cat listening to their conversations?” Willow asked. “They wouldn’t care if we
did walk in the front door.”
Nat headed toward the hedge. “It’s
better to be safe than sorry.”
He ducked under the hedge, but he
didn’t come out again. Willow waited for him, but when he didn’t reappear, she
tiptoed toward the hedge. “Nat? Are you there?”
No sound came from the wall of
vegetation. Willow crouched down. She pushed her head under the lowest bushy
branch and came face to face with Nat. “What are you doing under there?”
“Don’t say anything,” he whispered.
“Just do exactly as I do.”
“But there’s no danger here,” she
pointed out. “No one knows us here.”
He hissed at her and slithered away
through the dirt. Willow hated to get her fur dirty, but she didn’t see how she
had much choice but to follow him.
The hedge ran up the side of the house
and around the back yard. How did Nat know where to stay under the hedge to
keep hidden and where to come out when he wanted to dart up to the back door? Willow
shouldn’t have wondered that he knew every detail of every inch of the city. He
must have been doing this detective work since long before she was born.
He squeezed out from under the hedge
and peered around. Then he ran in a line straight for the open back door. Willow
hesitated a moment longer. Nat couldn’t be wrong, and even if he was, what
could possibly go wrong? If the owners found a couple of stray cats in their
house, they might yell and wave their arms until the cats ran away. They
couldn’t exactly call the police, could they?
Chapter 10
Willow ran to Nat’s side at the back
door, and they both froze with every hair on high alert. Then Nat ventured onto
the cold linoleum of the kitchen floor. Not a sound echoed through the house. Willow
crept after him, but something caught her attention that distracted her.
She wrinkled her nose toward the corner
by the refrigerator. A cat food smell clung to the base board and the crack
where the linoleum met the wall. Saliva filled her mouth. A memory of food
flooded her mind, so she almost forgot to follow Nat into the hall.
Nat crouched in the middle of the hall
and listened. Human voices came from one of the rooms. Willow trotted to his
side, but another cluster of smells assaulted her brain from the bathroom.
Mixed in with the stench of disinfectant and shower jell rose the combination
of human bodies, and not just any human bodies. She knew these people. She was
never more certain of anything in her life.
A shout brought her attention back to
the business at hand. “How many times do I have to tell you? I can’t get access
to the money until the police finish their investigation. I’ve tried, but they
have procedures to follow.”
Another female voice answered the
first, and Willow couldn’t mistake it for anyone other than Marlena Rappaport.
“This isn’t what we planned. I should have known better than to trust you.”
“You can rant and rave all you want.
That’s not going to get you your money any faster.” Willow recognized the first
voice as belonging to Josephine Avino. “We planned everything down to the
smallest detail, but we didn’t plan on waiting around to get our
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